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Puppy Assistant: the smart home for my dog

dev.to

11–20 of 37 posts

Re: Puppy Assistant: the smart home for my dog

#11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't do this. This is a horrible way to train dogs, and not only is the efficacy questionable but it will very likely lead to behavioral issues down the line.

It's not a horrible way to train dogs. What is horrible is the image you have in your mind of what I am saying, which is a misunderstanding.

Please don't double down. I've raised several dogs, and fostered at least a dozen throughout my life. I am regularly the "last guy" for problem dogs because nobody else knows how to handle them, and have dealt with many dogs who have attacked humans (and I have been bit many times dealing with these dogs).

I saw from your other comment that you learned this from Cesar Milan. Well like most celebrities, his advice can actually be harmful. You have to realize this entire guy's job is to sell you himself so he can make money from his brand.

https://medium.com/@vandanni.hadai/cesar-millan-the-problem-...

EDIT: Redacted recommendation based on comment. Normally I'd leave it, but if there's even a 5% chance that comment in the reply is true I do not want to encourage it.

Instead, try this book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761168850

Re: Puppy Assistant: the smart home for my dog

#12
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That isn't really recommended training by most behaviorists. You risk upping the dogs negative association and stress with events. Negative reinforcement training isn't great.

I didn't say to hurt the dog. This is a communication, not a stressor. It is recommended by Caeser Milan.

Cesar Milan is a terrible example of dog behaviour training. Most of the dog behaviorist community dissaproves of his methods.

Positive training is much more the norm these days. Cesar's techniques can create terrible feedback loops that create worse behavior long term.

Re: Puppy Assistant: the smart home for my dog

#13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a horrible way to train dogs. What is horrible is the image you have in your mind of what I am saying, which is a misunderstanding.

Please don't double down. I've raised several dogs, and fostered at least a dozen throughout my life. I am regularly the "last guy" for problem dogs because nobody else knows how to handle them, and have dealt with many dogs who have attacked humans (and I have been bit many times dealing with these dogs). I saw from your other comment that you learned this from Cesar Milan. Well like most celebrities, his advice can…

Quite a few people in the dog community aren't fans of canine intervention either.

https://www.reddit.com/r/puppy101/comments/lrok2i/whats_ever...

He's just another Cesar like trainer, just for a slightly newer age. I'd recommend not following his advice either, and consulting more positive reinforcement based behaviorists.

Re: Puppy Assistant: the smart home for my dog

#14
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't double down. I've raised several dogs, and fostered at least a dozen throughout my life. I am regularly the "last guy" for problem dogs because nobody else knows how to handle them, and have dealt with many dogs who have attacked humans (and I have been bit many times dealing with these dogs). I saw from your other comment that you learned this from Cesar Milan. Well like most celebrities, his advice can…

Quite a few people in the dog community aren't fans of canine intervention either. https://www.reddit.com/r/puppy101/comments/lrok2i/whats_ever... He's just another Cesar like trainer, just for a slightly newer age. I'd recommend not following his advice either, and consulting more positive reinforcement based behaviorists.

Have any good recommendations?

Based on what I saw, he was focused around positive-reinforcement. But I only watched 2 episodes. It was clear the show was edited, but it didn't seem nefarious.

Let's see if we agree on this. I recommend this book, do you (I'm not trying to pick a fight, just trying to see if/where we agree)?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761168850

Re: Puppy Assistant: the smart home for my dog

#15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a horrible way to train dogs. What is horrible is the image you have in your mind of what I am saying, which is a misunderstanding.

Please don't double down. I've raised several dogs, and fostered at least a dozen throughout my life. I am regularly the "last guy" for problem dogs because nobody else knows how to handle them, and have dealt with many dogs who have attacked humans (and I have been bit many times dealing with these dogs). I saw from your other comment that you learned this from Cesar Milan. Well like most celebrities, his advice can…

> Please don't double down.

I don't understand what you mean by that phrase. In the context of my comment, it is a non-sequitur. You're not really conversing with me. You are conversing with yourself.

Re: Puppy Assistant: the smart home for my dog

#16
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quite a few people in the dog community aren't fans of canine intervention either. https://www.reddit.com/r/puppy101/comments/lrok2i/whats_ever... He's just another Cesar like trainer, just for a slightly newer age. I'd recommend not following his advice either, and consulting more positive reinforcement based behaviorists.

Have any good recommendations? Based on what I saw, he was focused around positive-reinforcement. But I only watched 2 episodes. It was clear the show was edited, but it didn't seem nefarious. Let's see if we agree on this. I recommend this book, do you (I'm not trying to pick a fight, just trying to see if/where we agree)? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761168850

Unfortunately I haven't read that book to be able to comment. It does sound promising?

My wife recommends https://www.amazon.com/How-Behave-Your-Dog-Behaves/dp/079380... as a book.

In terms of shows, there's unfortunately not a ton of positive reinforcement shows, at least that I can think of. Possibly because it's more work and less short term magic. The shows with Victoria Stilwell are probably the most prominent as a positive reinforcement show. Though perhaps a little dated. Supposedly she has a YouTube channel where she corrects her past episodes based on more modern thinking.

The puppy101 Reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/puppy101/wiki/subadmin/trainers ) generally has some good content listed, and I see they've listed Larry Kay there. So I'm inclined to think I'd be pro the book you linked just based on the other recommendations on there.

Re: Puppy Assistant: the smart home for my dog

#17
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have any good recommendations? Based on what I saw, he was focused around positive-reinforcement. But I only watched 2 episodes. It was clear the show was edited, but it didn't seem nefarious. Let's see if we agree on this. I recommend this book, do you (I'm not trying to pick a fight, just trying to see if/where we agree)? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761168850

Unfortunately I haven't read that book to be able to comment. It does sound promising? My wife recommends https://www.amazon.com/How-Behave-Your-Dog-Behaves/dp/079380... as a book. In terms of shows, there's unfortunately not a ton of positive reinforcement shows, at least that I can think of. Possibly because it's more work and less short term magic. The shows with Victoria Stilwell are probably the most prominent a…

Thanks, I appreciate it. Cheers.

Re: Puppy Assistant: the smart home for my dog

#19
post #18

Am I the only one who wonders why a dog alone needs lights turned on when it gets dark? Are we afraid canine sleep cycles aren’t as damaged as our own? Or maybe he just wants to read.

Some dogs get uncomfortable or anxious if left alone in complete darkness.

Others might have poor night vision (mine tends to bump into things / have trouble using stairs if it’s pitch-black).

Learn to know your dog, they are not things that can be left alone in a fully dark, unheated home.

Re: Puppy Assistant: the smart home for my dog

#20
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can imagine that feedback mechanism could go badly. Want a treat? Randomly bark. I say this only because we did not manage to successfully train out the bark at strangers behavior in our otherwise pretty well-trained dog.

In real life you achieve this by physically restraining the dog with your hands for 15 seconds in an unambiguous manner when it does the unwanted behaviour.

What I had to do 2 or 3 times total with my last dog when she was badly misbehaving in circumstances that simply aren't acceptable, where she wasn't wanting to listen/not calming down, was to take her, lay her on her side, put a lot of my body weight on her to gently pin her and grab her by the snout with both hands holding it down/together - while looking her in the eyes and in a slight low, slow, growly voice say "nooooo" - until she stopped resisting and became submissive again. It's over quickly and the behaviour stops from this "punishment"/control where she re-learns I am in control, and then regains confidence that I am an adequate pack leader.

This technique for barking is also very useful for quieting barking: some dogs will quiet very quickly and can be controlled just with the hand(s) over the snout with the low "nooooo" sound - others will fight to pull away and then you may need to add the gentle pinning action as well.

This technique comes from how that this is what mothers will do with their pups if they are barking and need them to be quiet - they will gently bite down on their snout from the top and growl quietly; maybe it's akin to a parent going "shhhhhhhhh" to a baby/child?

Also, my dog, Kylie, was 50 Lbs. The technique I described is harder to do on much larger dogs and much smaller dogs for various reasons, little dogs more often have alpha behaviours because the little buggers are hard to grab onto their snouts.

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